We posted earlier in the hour an item regarding the letter from NFL Alumni president George Martin to all retired players confirming that the league has guaranteed ongoing benefits after expiration of the current labor deal.
And then we sought out a reaction from the NFL Players Association. Though we feared (or maybe, for intrigue purposes, hoped) that the union would argue that the guarantee really isn’t a guarantee, the NFLPA has acknowledged in a statement from NFLPA Former Players Board of Directors Chairman Cornelius Bennett that the vow is legit.
But the NFLPA now wants the league to go one step farther.
“We applaud the Commissioner’s guarantee of the benefits our players fought so
hard to obtain,” Bennett said. “He should also quickly guarantee the health care and benefits
for all current players in the event of a lockout in March and commit the Owners
to provide $1M to a legacy fund to improve former player benefits. Current and
former players stand as ONE.”
That last line could be viewed by some former players as a little presumptuous, but it confirms that both the league and the union desperately want to get on the good side of the former players in advance of a potential work stoppage. Here’s hoping that those who made the game what it is will take advantage of the fact that, for once, the league and the union actually are paying attention to them.
Either way, we doubt that the league will continue to provide health care to current players in the event of a lockout. The looming evaporation of these benefits provides a key piece of leverage for the owners, and it would be foolish for the NFL to simply surrender it.